Fire Within
by QueenMaple
Summary: Gwyna always knew she was different. Stay tuned to see what happens when she finds out just how different she really is. And you can't have an adventure without a little romance, now, can you?
1. A Prologue of Sorts

London, England

Gwyna sat on the steps behind her expansive London home, reading a book of riddles. At this time of day, most fifteen year old girls would be in school. Gwyna had never set foot outside the street side of her home. Her mother had died after her birth, and to the rest of the world she was dead. Or at least,Reese ReneeRoberts was dead. Gwyna was the name she had given herself after reading it in a book. It was an odd name for an odd girl.

Her father had added her name to the obituary because of her "deformity." She had seemed like a normal, healthy baby girl, but upon closer inspection a small, arrowhead tail had been discovered protruding from her lower back. It was the same reddish color as her hair. As time wore on, full, bat-like wings grew between her shoulders. They were also the same reddish color as her hair. It was apparent from the start that she was no ordinary girl.

Gwyna's father had only kept her because of how closely she resembled her mother. She had her same bright green eyes. She had her mother's trademark reddish tresses. Her father had grieved her mother's death horribly and thought that the child could ease his pain. She instead made it worse. She was so like her that he sometimes thought that his love was still alive. And she was, in the form of her daughter.

"Bairn, git indoors now.'Tis cold outside," Cook called from the kitchen door. Gwyna's eyes didn't leave the page as she stood. She made her way into the kitchen and automatically walked to her stool in the corner by the stove. Growing up, she had spent countless hours there reading or talking to Cook and her helper.

"Now what're you readin', my dear?" Cook's helper, Martha asked.

"Riddles." Her eyes still did not stray from the pages.

"A brilliant mind like yers should no go t' waste in th' dark o' this house," Cook huffed, pulling the tea kettle off the stove. Gwyna giggled and Cook and Martha looked at each other. They had been the mothers to the girl ever since she was brought to the house. They both pitied her, but knew that if they showed it, the girl would scold them. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone anymore since her father had begun ignoring her.

"Come now, my dear," Martha said, "'tis time fer tea. Cook and I made ginger men."

Gwyna looked up. "Can we ice them?"

"'Course, bairn," Cook laughed. "I dinna ken tha' you still had a likin' tae such things."

Gwyna scurried over to the big table in the middle of the kitchen. She grabbed a ginger man and began icing his outline. She made his face cheery and bright, a deep contrast to her surroundings. It was nearing Christmas, but no decorations had been put up yet. Usually Cook's husband, Sandy, did that. But he was visiting his sick aunt back in Scotland.

"Cook, can you not sing us a song?" Gwyna asked.

"Och, lass. You dinna want t' hear me sing," Cook said blushing. Then she bustled over to get the cream and sugar.

"Aye, she warbles worse than th' carolers tha' come round ev'ry year," Martha teased.

"Now you see here ye auld maid. I've a singin' voice tha'd make the hounds sing along!" Cook said, turning around.

"Then sing a Christmas carol," Gwyna chided. Cook threw her hands up in the air in defeat and began to sing.

Martha and Gwyna giggled as they frosted their gingerbread men. Then they proceeded to sing some more songs. They were having such a good time that they did not hear Gwyna's father come home from the office.

"What's all this?" he demanded from the doorway of the kitchen. He only looked at Martha and Cook; his gaze never rested on his daughter.

"We tho' we'd have a bit o' holiday cheer, sir," Cook replied.

"I will not tolerate any more of this," he said. Finally, he actually looked at Gwyna. "You, child. Go pack you're things. You're leaving tonight."

"But sir!" Cook cried. "Where'll th' wee lass go? An' who'll look after her?"

"That is none of your concern," he replied coldly. "Now go."

"Don't worry," Gwyna said. She hugged Cook and Martha and went to her room.

First she grabbed her favorite books. Then she grabbed her everyday necessities. She poked around in the corners and in the backs of drawers; the whole while she was utterly confused. Her father had rarely spoken to her for the past ten years. Now he was sending her away. Had she done something wrong?

_My very existence displeases him_, she thought sadly. Pushing her thoughts aside, she made her downstairs.


	2. The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the X-Men; Marvel and the brilliant mind of Stan Lee do. I only own my creativity andsanity.)

The Xavier Mansion, New York, USA

"I'm sure you will find your stay with us most pleasant, Miss Roberts," Ororo Munroe was saying to her newest charge.

Gwyna looked around her new room. It was simply furnished with a twin bed, dresser, vanity, and desk. She placed her suitcase on the bed and moved to the window. Outside she could see many others her age enjoying themselves in the snow. They were all students, as she was now, at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.

"Thank you, Miss Munroe. But please, call me Gwyna. Miss Roberts died a long time ago," Gwyna explained.

Ororo a.k.a. Storm nodded. "As you wish, Gwyna. Once you're done unpacking you can come downstairs. There are a lot of people that would like to meet you."

It was Gwyna's turn to nod. As Storm left, Gwyna let out a sigh of exasperation. All of this had happened so quickly. Her father had explained very vaguely that he had been receiving letters from a Professor Charles Xavier for some time. The professor had wanted Miss Reese Roberts to attend his school. Her father continually replied that she was dead. Then a gruff looking man and a young, white haired woman had showed up at his office. They were there to collect Renee.

After putting her things away, Gwyna cautiously made her way downstairs. Her tail flicked nervously behind her; she had yet to bring out her wings. After peeking around a bit, she found Storm with other people, including the man who had come to get her.

"Ah, here she is now," Storm said. She beckoned the girl to come closer. "Gwyna, I'd like to introduce you to Professor Xavier. It was he that requested you attend this school."

An older looking bald man in a wheel chair came forward. "It is very nice to finally meet you, Miss Roberts," he said extending his hand.

Gwyna shook it. "Thank you, but 'tis just Gwyna. Miss Roberts died a long time ago," she clarified.

There was an awkward silence. Then Gwyna asked the question that had been lingering in the back of her mind.

"Why me? Stars above, how on earth did you find me?" she asked.

"Do you know what we are at this school, Gwyna," Professor X asked her. She thought for a moment.

"A school for those o' higher intelligence?" she ventured.

"That is correct. That is what we are to the public. But if you look around you will see that we are quite different from your average citizens. Take yourself for example. Does the average student, walking around at his or her school have a tail?"

Gwyna blinked in surprise. "Well, no, not at all."

"You see Gwyna, this school is also a refuge for _mutants_. I, for example, am a telepath. My mutant abilities allow me to read the minds of others and communicate mentally with them. With the aid of my machine, Cerebro, which amplifies my powers, I sensed you. You have very potent mutant power, my child."

She was dumbstruck. "What powers?" she asked and then turned almost as red as her tail.

"We, that is, the X-Men and I believe that you have untapped powers that are very strong. Therefore, we must protect you."

Gwyna looked disbelievingly at Professor X. This was far too much. The first time she left her home, she crossed an ocean and entered a different country. Now she was told that she could possibly have amazing mutant powers.

"Certainly you've heard about the growing pressure on the government to'secure' mutants, Gwyna?" a brown haired man asked. He wore sunglasses, even though he was indoors.

"To tell you the truth sir, I'd not left my home 'til Miss Munroe came and fetched me with…I'm sorry. I don't know your name, sir," she said, glancing over at the gruff looking man.

"That is Logan, Gwyna. Also known as Wolverine," Professor X explained. "And this is Scott Summers, alias Cyclops." He gestured to the man wearing sunglasses. "There is also Miss Jean Grey, or Phoenix." A red-headed woman nodded towards Gwyna. "Ah, and here is Mr. Kurt Wagner, our very own Nightcrawler."

Gwyna turned around to see one of the strangest creatures she'd ever laid eyes on, apart from herself of course. His skin was blue and he had yellow eyes. Each hand had three fingers and each foot had two toes. And he had a tail.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said bowing. He had a very thick German accent as well. "I see ve are somevat the same, Miss."

"Gwyna," she supplied and looked at her own tail. "Yes, I guess. But ye most likely are not hiding these under you're jacket."

He raised an eyebrow as she removed her brown jacket. He looked in surprise as huge, red wings stretched out behind the small child.

"No, child, I do not posses that mode of flight," Nightcrawler replied.

"Kurt has the power of teleportation, Gwyna," explained Professor X. "As I was going to say, we would like to help you develop and hone whatever powers lie beneath the surface. That is, if you are willing to."

"But why in the bloody world would you want to train me?" she asked.

"If you discovered your powers on your own, the effects could be disastrous. If you were to fall into the wrong hands, the effects of that would be disastrous," Jean told her.

"And who exactly are the 'wrong hands'," she asked shrewdly.

"There are some mutants that believe that they to be superior to normal human beings. They feel that they should dominate the non-mutant race and use violence towards them," Professor X said.

"We believe that humans and mutants can live together without having to hurt each other," Cyclops added. "That's been Professor X's dream for a long time."

"But sadly there are those humans that vant nothing to do vith us as vell, mein herr," Kurt said sadly.

"And now they are pushing the government even more to restrain mutants," an unfamiliar voice added form the doorway.

Another blue furred creature entered the room. However, he was very apelike as Kurt was fairly human-like, in size and shape at any rate.

"Gwyna, meet Dr. Hank McCoy or Beast," Professor X

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss," Beast said politely. Then he turned to Professor X. "I fear the government may be starting something."

Gwyna took this as her cue to leave. Bidding the adults good-day, she slipped into the hallway and began exploring. She had never left her home, as she mentioned before and this was an exciting, enthralling new experience. She found a door with buttons and pushed the one with a down-facing arrow. To her great surprise, the door opened itself. She stepped into the little room and the doors closed behind her. She whipped around. All of a sudden the room began to move, down she supposed. When it stopped, she stepped out.

Now she was in a strange hallway. Everything looked metallic and very clean. She went into the first door she came upon. It was like an indoor balcony, overlooking an even stranger room than the hallway.

Below her three students around her age were battling huge robots. Had anyone been with her, they could have told her that she was looking at the Danger Room and that the students were training. But no one was there.

_Think, lass, think._

She looked around at the confusing mass of buttons and screens. She glanced at one and saw that the robots weren't touching the students at all. They seemed to be doing fine on their own. That is, until the tall, dark one threw a card at one of the robots and made it fall towards the girl. Just in time, she flew out and began scolding the boy.

"Mission failed," a cool, female voice announced.

The three students headed up on a platform to the room Gwyna occupied.

"The Gambit's truly sorry, chère," the tall boy said.

"Look, Cajun," the girl began, sweeping her white bangs out of her face. "Ah've told ya once and Ah'll tell ya agin: Ah don't want yer apologies. Ah just want ya t' go away!"

At that moment, the formerly snow-covered boy spotted Gwyna. "Uh, Rogue, uh—"

"What Bobby?" Rogue asked turning around.

"Er, hi," Gwyna said, waving. Her tail twitched.

"Mon chère, I do not think I have made your acquaintance," the Cajun said coming forward. He took Gwyna's hand and raised it to his lips. The color gathered in her cheeks.

"Leave th' poor gal alone, Gambit," Rogue snapped, smacking him in the back of the head. She smiled at Gwyna. "Ah'm Rogue. And this annoying swamp rat'd be Gambit."

"I'm Gwyna," she replied, shaking Rogue's gloved hand.

"I'm Bobby, or Iceman," the other boy said. "You new?"

"Yes, actually. I just arrived today."

"You a Scot?" Bobby asked, surprising her.

"Well, not exactly. But when you're raised by two you kinda pick up their dialect. I'm a bit o' all the U.K.," Gwyna explained.

"Well this is hardly the place t' talk," Rogue said. "Let's go up t' the kitchen an' fix ourselves somethin' hot."

"The Gambit thinks that idea is merveilleux," he said as they went up.

* * *

"Mah mutant powers are certainly not the greatest," Rogue was saying ruefully several days later. "Any skin contact Ah make with another'll make meh sap their mem'ries and their powers if they've got any." She smiled wryly. "Usually it only lasts fer, at the most an hour, but Ah have retained Miss Marvel's powers. So now Ah can fly and have superhuman strength." 

"Mine're loads simpler," Bobby started. "I'm pretty much a humane icicle, as you saw before. Lately I've been working with the Professor to make my snowy state a bit icier."

"I, chère, can charge anything with kinetic energy," Gambit said. He looked at her. "And what of you?"

"Well, I don't know exactly," she said truthfully. "I've only my tail and wings so far. But the Professor said I might have something else."

"We could find out," Bobby said quietly.

"Now hang on, Ice pop. That wouldn't be a good way to find out!" Rogue cried as Bobby dragged Gwyna out of the room.

"Rogue! Where's he taking me?" Gwyna called over her shoulder.

"Hang on, sugah," Rogue replied. "Cajun, go get Professor X. Ah'll try and get the Human Snowball t' stop. Just 'cause Alison found 'er powers under pressure, don't mean Gwyna should."

"Professor X?" Gambit called into his office.

"Beast and Wolverine are on their way, Remy," he said.

"Right," the boy replied and dashed off to the Danger Room.

When he reached the Danger Room, Beast was carrying Gwyna's limp form in his arm. Wolverine was lecturing, more like yelling, at Bobby. Rogue was in hysterics. He went to her first.

"You gon' be alright, chère?" he asked softly.

"Ah'll be fine in a while," she replied. "But…Ah can't believe him. Magma and Ah were such good friends. Why'd he want t' hurt her mem'ry like that?"

"I don' think he was trying to hurt her memory. We were all good friends. I think maybe he's still hurting and thought he might find comfort in the new _fille_," Gambit said, pulling her into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder as new tears surfaced.


	3. What Happened Next

Gwyna blinked slowly into consciousness. Her head and body ached. She looked around and saw she was in her bed or at least, a bed with her bedclothes on it. It took a few minutes for the memories of the past couple days to flood back. Then she remembered why she had blacked out in the first place.

"She's awake!" Gambit exclaimed from the doorway. Rogue rushed to her bedside.

"How ya feelin', sugah?" she asked.

"Whole, but ridiculously sore."

Rogue laughed. "That's wonderful."

Gwyna was silent for a moment. "What happened?"

Rogue looked at her, pain written across her face. "Ah don't really know. When Ah got there ya had already passed out. Bobby was tryin' t' revive ya."

"He should have known it would happen if Professor X said you've a hidden power," Gambit added.

"How?"

"Two years ago, anti-mutant activity was at a high. Mutants were bein' sent t' concentration camps of a sort. Gambit, Bobby and Ah had just found refuge here when they brought her…

_"For the last time, Cajun, leave meh alone!" Rogue yelled. She stalked down the stairs, just as Wolverine came inside. "Hello, Logan." _

_In his arms was the limp body of a blond haired girl. Both were dripping wet. Storm flew in behind them. As her feet touched the ground, the rain dispersed. _

_"Hurry Logan, to the medi-lab," Storm said. She and Wolverine headed into the elevator. Rogue hurried after them in another. _

_She waited outside the medi-lab until Wolverine came out. _

_"Is that her?" she asked. "The gal Professor X was talkin' 'bout?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"What happened?"_

_"Knocked herself out. Not quite sure how. I was fightin' the Blob and she started screamin' about us stoppin'. She got all fiery and passed out. Knocked me into a building. Blob and Mystique grabbed her and ran. Had a helluva time trackin' her. Ran into a lot of…obstacles. Storm showed up though and we found her. Conscious, but then she went and passed out again."_

_"And she will be fine," Storm said, coming out. "Jean says the power in her is incredible." She gave Rogue a pointed look. _

_"Right. Ah'll be leavin' now," the girl said. _

"We had a lot of good times," Rogue said. Gwyna could tell where this was going. "But she sacrificed herself when we were fightin' Magneto not six months ago. She blew his whole dang meteor t' bits. Gal went out with a bang."

Gwyna grabbed Rogue's hand. "I'm sorry, if 'tis any consolation."

"Now you see why we have been so upset by Bobby's actions," Gambit said. Gwyna nodded.

"But I'd still like to know what exactly made me pass out," she replied.

"I believe I can help with that," came Professor Xavier's voice from the doorway. The three students looked at him.

* * *

"Wait, chère," Gambit called as they left Gwyna's room. 

"What, Cajun?" Rogue asked, not as harshly as usual.

"Are you sure you saw nothin'?" he asked seriously.

Rogue looked at the floor. "Ah…Ah didn' want t' remember. But it was just like with Alison. It's like she's got that same fire inside. Ah know we haven't known the gal long, but…Ah don't want t' lose her." Tears threatened to pour down her face.

"It'll be okay, chère," Gambit whispered, pulling her into a tight hug.

* * *

Gwyna sat trembling in her bed. She eased herself out of it and pulled on her robe. She walked to the window and stared out at the snow. The rising sun gave it a pink tint. 

_I could melt that if I wanted to_, she thought wryly.

"Get a grip, lass," she told herself. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Hey," Bobby said.

Gwyna turned to face him. She was unsure whether she should be extremely mad at him or not. She'd never dealt with this kind of situation.

"I want to say sorry," he started. "And I want to start over." He extended his hand. "I'm Bobby Drake, or Iceman."

"Gwyna, just Gwyna," she said smiling. She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

"History is such a snore fest," Bobby complained. 

Gwyna shook her head. "You just don't like it because you can never remember the dates and things."

"Well just 'cause you can remember everything," he started.

"You two are bickerin' like a married couple," Rogue interrupted. She sat down next to Gwyna. "Hope you studied for the test, Popsicle. You know Storm don't stand cheatin'."

"Who said anything about cheating?" he asked innocently. Gwyna grabbed his hand and turned it over.

"And these notes would be fer what, exactly?" she asked.

"I want no talking until the last test is turn in," Storm instructed. "When you are done you may read or sleep. No talking whatsoever."

Bobby let out a sigh. Gwyna and Rogue rolled their eyes. The two girls were what one could consider best friends. They had gotten to know each other very well. Both needed the other and both weren't sure how they had gotten on without the other. Rogue was Gwyna's first real friend her age and Rogue was trying hard not to think of Gwyna as Alison. They weren't all that similar in appearance or personality, but after seeing what Gwyna was capable of, Rogue sometimes smeared the two together.

Rogue shook her head. Gwyna most certainly was not Magma. She was her own person. She looked over at her new friend, whose head was bent over her test.

_Oops, forgot about the test for a minute_, she thought, and started on it.


	4. Newfound Power

Professor X watched as Iceman, Rogue, and Gambit led Gwyna into the Danger Room. She had been with them for almost six months and had yet to test out her powers. Of course she would be afraid. After all, her powers had rendered her unconscious. She had been trembling when Rogue presented her with the generic student X-Men uniform.

"I-I'm not so sure this is an entirely sane thing to be doing," Gwyna said.

"Don't fret chère. If trouble should come, the Gambit will be there in a flash," Gambit replied, trying to sound reassuring.

"Professor X won't let anythin' happen t' ya, sugah," Rogue added, glaring at Gambit.

"Right, well, let's get this show on the road then," Bobby said, turning into his snowy form. He turned around and gave Professor X a thumbs up.

"Mission start," announced a cool, female voice.

Gwyna looked about her, seemingly expecting some hideous beast to appear. All of a sudden the scenery changed and they were in the heart of Manhattan. Everything appeared normal until a Sentinel appeared. She screamed.

"Gwyn, remember, it's not really real," Bobby said.

She gulped and nodded, her eyes trained on the Sentinel that had just appeared. Her tail was twitching horribly. She watched as Rogue flew up at the first giant robot and threw a punch to the middle of its face. Gwyna cheered as it crashed into a building.

"Well if you like _that_, chère," Gambit muttered. He ran to the third Sentinel that had come and threw a multitude of cards at it. The explosions created fireworks of a sort. He bowed as Gwyna applauded.

"Your turn, Gwyna," Bobby called as he dispatched the second Sentinel.

"But what do I do?" she asked, looking at the robot heading towards here.

"That's what we're here to find out," he replied.

Gwyna's mind froze as the robot moved nearer and nearer. All she could do was stand there. That is, until Rogue went at it and was brushed away like a crumb. Gwyna's ears filled with the sound of her closest friend hitting the side of an apartment. That ticked her off.

Without thinking she flew into the air, her wings beating rapidly. She hung there for a moment and all she thought about was hurting that stupid robot and its pal that had just entered the street. All of a sudden there was a ball of fire in each of her hands. With all her might, Gwyna hurled them at the first Sentinel.

They tore through it like a bullet rips through a human.

Two more fire balls appeared and she hurled them at the oncoming Sentinel. The effects were the same. The next one didn't even have enough time to register the four mutants as targets. Gwyna had blown it to bits the moment she caught sight of it.

"Behind her," Rogue cried. Bobby and Gambit turned around, as did Gwyna.

Laser beams shot out of its eyes, catching her in the stomach. Her friends watched in horror as she made contact with a window. The glass shattered and the Sentinel set its sights on the other three.

Gambit, Rogue, and Bobby rushed across the street to Gwyna. She came out of the front door of the apartment building. The only damage they could see was where she had been cut by the glass.

Without a glance towards her concerned friends, she took off towards the Sentinel. They stared after her as she blew it to bit. Except this time, fire hadissued from her mouth as well. They didn't have time to recover from the shock seeing asthree more Sentinels had emerged.

Gwyna was out of breath and very, very angry by now. She didn't like it when her friends were hurt and she didn't like getting hurt either. These Sentinels were moving closer to the top of her list of things she disliked. It was as if she was on autopilot the way she moved to get rid of them. She tried to avoid the laser beams of one, but the beam of another grazed her upper arm. She fell to her knees.

That was it. The final straw had been broken. She was fed up with these machines, which she hadn't wanted to battle in the first place. She was fed up with not knowing what her powers were. She was fed up because she was starting to cry. She was simply fed up.

"Uh-oh," Bobby said weakly. He watched as Gwynarose slowly, miraculously avoiding being shot.

"What?" asked Gambit. He too watched Gwyna.

"She's gonna do it!" Rogue cried. Gwyna was rising very slowly into the air. There was fire in her hands and it was creeping over her entire being.

"Do what, chère?" Gambit asked. He was thoroughly confused.

The Sentinels had formed a circle around the floating Gwyna. The minute it seemed as though they would blow her to bits, she curled into a fiery ball. The next second she opened up and a bubble of fire erupted from her. She completely annihilated the Sentinels. She also began falling.

"I've got you," Iceman called as he created an icebridge to her. He caught her moments before she hit the street.

"Mission end," the voice announced.

Gambit was speechless. His jaw had dropped as soon as the fire began spreading over her body. Rogue pushed his mouth closed with a trembling hand.

"You saw her do this before, didn' you, Rogue," he asked. Looking away, she nodded. Beast came down and took Gwyna to the medi-lab.

Bobby turned back to normal, shaking his head. He had expected that to happen sooner or later. He had witnessed her knock herself out before, but that time had really been his fault. He had put her up against much more than Sentinels. He winced at the memory.

* * *

Professor X watched the three students, curious to see how they would take their friend's newfound power. They had been relatively shocked at first. Gambit seemed to be the most awestruck. He hadn't been there before; only Iceman and Rogue had seen her. Neither of them had told Gwyna what she was capable of. Bobby probably felt too guilty to tell her. However he wasn't sure about Rogue. 


End file.
